A Void
by MidniteCurse4Eternity
Summary: Daphne would pretend that this fake happiness was everything she ever wanted as Mystery Incorporated slowly crumbled down. Crystal Cove was starting to break. Sequel to "To Be Whole".


**A/N: Mystery Incorporated. I was in a depressed mood today and this is the result. A continuation/sequel of my "To Be Whole" one-shot. **

* * *

Daphne sighed as she stared out of the car window. Her orange hair tied up with a purple scrunchy.

"What's wrong?"

She turned to look at Baylor, smiling, "Oh, just...you know, daydreaming."

"You sure? You don't look so good."

"No, I'm fine, really Baylor. It's just...you know, everything's crazy in Crystal Cove right now."

"I worry about you, babe. It's not safe with these criminals lurking around. I heard about the explosions last night. You should just come with me to shoot my films..."

Absentmindedly, Daphne reached for her green scarf, only to jerk her hand back. She didn't have her green scarf anymore. It was locked away in a box among other things, with the "key" thrown away. Instead, she opted to fiddle with her green belt.

"I don't want to get in the way of your filming..."

Daphne drowned out Baylor's reply with her thoughts. She didn't know why she was so worried. Crybaby Clown was still out there, but it wasn't her problem. She had chosen to give up on mystery-solving. So why did she have this uneasy feeling? Why did she feel guilty and lost? Why was she still worried about the gang? She was supposed to be happy now, so why did she feel so miserable and disconsolate? She had someone who cared about her feelings, so why was she still thinking about Fred? The day he walked away was the day that the old Daphne died. She died as the blood dripped down her wrists, like raindrops. She had cried for what felt like years and tried to jump off a cliff. She would have succeeded too if it wasn't for Baylor, who snatched her away from the edge. That was how they met and she was happy for once. She felt strangely attracted to Baylor, despite the fact that Fred - _Freddie_ - was still in her head. That was when she decided to get rid of everything that reminded her of him. She threw away her scarf and her purple headband. She threw away her how-to-make-an-ascot book. She threw away her memories and her friends. She threw away her love for mysteries. _She threw away her heart._

So when she had ran into him in front of that diner, she was filled with pain and rage. She had walked past him, pretending that he was just a hobo, but she could recognize him anywhere, even with his beard, and his ascot was a dead give-away anyways. Her happy mood faded and she had wanted to scream at him; to slap him; to watch him writhe in agony on the floor; to hurt him like he had hurt her. But with Baylor there, she kept that fake smile on her face.

And then he had the nerve, the NERVE, to knock on her door and tell her to come back,_ like nothing had happened, like he didn't break her heart into a million pieces, like he didn't abandon her. _She had told him politely to leave and she was so tempted to run into his arms and kiss him. But she had slammed the door in his face, shutting her thoughts out. And when she heard how his trap failed, she smiled to herself, thinking, "Serves him right." But then the pain would come back and she ran off to find Baylor, because he was a drug. A drug that made her happy. She was probably using him, but it was okay. She didn't care that she didn't love him - and that it was always Freddie, Freddie, Freddie - she was happy and that was all that mattered. Her dad was right, Fred Jones was not the guy for her. He would never put her first and he didn't understand how much she had loved him. She was always there for him, but he was never there for her. He was stuck in the clouds with his traps, and when they were finally together, he left to find his parents. He broke off their engagement when she really would have traveled to the ends of the earth to help him look for them. That was the final straw and she was done. She was done with love and sadness and pain and FRED JONES. She just wanted to be happy and alive.

So why the hell was she still worried about him? Why should she care that he was almost caught up in one of Crybaby Clown's explosions? Why did she care that he barely got out alive? Why did it hurt to breathe when he was in danger? Why should she care at all?

Then old Daphne would speak in her mind, _'Because you still love him, because you can't lock your heart away forever.'_

But Daphne didn't care anymore; she ignored it. Her life was better now - _"you're lying!_" - and she wouldn't exchange her fake happiness for anything.

"Babe?"

"Y-yeah?"

"You were spacing out on me. We're here."

"Oh, haha I guess I was daydreaming way to hard."

"Come on. I have to show you this amazing place..."

Daphne ignored the ominous feeling that something really bad was going to happen. She smiled that little -_ fake_ - perfect smile of hers and walked out of the car, hands linked with Baylor's.

* * *

So when the news reached her the next day, it came as no surprise. Mystery Incorporated was caught up in an explosion, chasing after Crybaby Clown, and Fred Jones - who had taken the brunt of the blast to protect his friends - hasn't woken up since.

Daphne shut down and went on with her day, heart painfully twisting and pumping in her chest. Why couldn't she breathe?

That night, she found out that the explosion wouldn't have occurred had one of his traps worked. But it failed because there was an empty space. Mystery Incorporated wasn't whole...

She cried that night, clenching his ascot, one last time. She finally drifted off to sleep, wrists scarred, raw, red, bleeding, and bleeding_._ And in the morning, she plastered on that fake happy smile of hers, bandaged wrists hidden beneath her sleeves, bags under her eyes hidden by makeup, and the orange ascot locked away in a box.

_'For happiness'_, she concluded as she stepped out of her room, eyes filled with guilt, pain, and turmoil_. _

Mystery Incorporated wasn't whole without her. Even she knew that.

* * *

**FIN~**

So I don't know what I'm doing. I guess I'm making a sequel series to the story "To Be Whole". I think I'll be writing in each members prospective. Possibly.

Tried to write a dark fic, but I just couldn't kill Fred off. And notice the little differences in Daphne's appearance. I butchered her character. T-T

I'm so obsessed with SCMI right now. When is the next episode coming out?

Review. Please?


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